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LAVEEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

BY DON HARRIS
Kevin Hegarty
Kevin Hegarty Puts Unique Land Swap Together,

Wins ASBO International Award

Kevin Hegarty was the man in the middle of an unprecedented Elementary School District forged an agreement with the
three-way land swap that netted the Laveen Elementary School state to swap the district’s parcel for the parcel in the new
District a much-needed site for a new school and resulted in Taylor Morrison development – it was a three-way trade with
Hegarty receiving a coveted award from ASBO International. a homebuilder and the apartment developer. It took five years
to finally close escrow.
Hegarty, Chief Financial Officer for the school district, was
one of four school business officials nationally to receive If the district had merely sold its parcel next to the mall, the
ASBO International’s 2020 Pinnacle of Achievement Award, money would have gone back to the state. But by putting
which “celebrates the work of outstanding individuals whose together the three-way trade, the school district benefitted by
original solutions maximize resources and enhance student some $5 million, Hegarty said.
achievement.” The organization honored Hegarty and the
others as “innovators in school business management.” He explained: “We were going to get zero. The Attorney
General said we could swap parcels as long as no buildings
Soon after Hegarty joined Laveen in 2014, he was tasked with were on site and the values were the same. So, our district got
disposing of a site that was no longer suitable for a school land worth $1.3 million, and the city spent $2.5 million on
and finding a better place. A busy strip mall, complete with the park, which includes lighted fields and other features. In
a Walmart and other retail outlets, sprang up right next to the addition, Taylor Morrison donated more than $1 million to the
would-be school site. “Traffic and kids just don’t mix well,” district. The district owns the entire parcel.”
Hegarty said.
The new K-8 school, located at 55th and Carver avenues,
He oversaw a complex, never-been-done-before series of is the ninth in the Laveen Elementary School District. It is
transactions that enabled the school district to acquire a parcel named Estrella Foothills Global Academy and is designed for
of land that was supposed to be used for a park. City officials 1,000 students. Doors are scheduled to open for the inaugural
said they had the money to build a park, but not to maintain school year October 12, with the official ribbon cutting set for
it, according to Hegarty. The school district put its site out for October 27.
bid, and one developer really showed an interest. “He wanted
to put apartments and commercial pads there, right next to the Laveen needed the additional school because of anticipated
strip mall – perfect, but not for a school,” Hegarty said. growth in the area due to the 202 freeway extension. “We’re
expecting 5,500 new homes and apartments in the district in
A key player in the process was Taylor Morrison, one of the next three years,” Hegarty said.
the largest homebuilders in the United States. “They had
stipulations in their development plan that required them to Hegarty has held key positions at several Arizona school
set aside a parcel the district could acquire for a school and districts dating back to 1992. Prior to that, he was with the
a separate parcel for the city to build a park,” Hegarty said. Dial Corporation for 10 years, serving as Manager of Financial
“Unfortunately, the Arizona Department of Transportation took Analysis.
a swath of land for the 202 freeway extension that eliminated
that parcel. They were anxious to get their development going While Hegarty was the man in the middle who made the
because construction of the freeway extension was scheduled unprecedented swap happen, he is quick to credit others. “It’s
to begin shortly. I looked at it as an opportunity.” good to have great staff who kept thing running, gave me time
to put this together,” he said. “There were a lot of roadblocks.
Taylor Morrison still had to meet the stipulation for a school It took time to break down barriers, but everybody had a
and park. The apartment developer who wanted the district’s common goal.”
parcel next to the mail acquired about 18 acres of the Taylor
Morrison property, half of which was set aside for the school Hegarty can be reached at: khegarty@laveeneld.org. He will
and the rest for a park. Hegarty said the school district has the provide more details on the transactions at AASBO’s upcoming
use of the park’s amenities during school hours and agreed to virtual Summer Conference.
maintain it. Basically, under Hegarty’s guidance, the Laveen

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36 THE EDGE BACK TO SCHOOL 2020